Yesterday we drove past Rawene to visit Northland's boulders. Koutu Boulders are located in the Hokianga region and are only accessible on low tide. Along with the obligatory "no camping" sign the road to the beach looked very dodgy with potholes so we parked further back and walked.
This part of the beach was an estuary with many mangroves and mudflats, you can see how far the water comes up from the puddles leftover.
From the beginning of the beach were smaller boulders leading to bigger ones. Some of them looked like they had been cut in perfect shapes and formations, some of them looked to be sedimentary rocks and others looked volcanic.
B is standing next to one of them so you could see the rough average size of the boulders, the Hokianga harbour is in the background.
Further along the beach was this old abandoned caravan that looked like it was falling apart. This area has a few holiday houses scattered here and there, I imagine it would still be very quiet over Summer.
An island in the distance that you would be able to get to if you had a boat, we were wondering if it was used many years ago by Maori possibly to bury their dead (we've heard that some tiny islands like this are sacred places).
After walking along the beach for about half an hour we reached the point where the tide was still a bit high for us to climb over these rocks, to the right up on the land there was a pathway that had sadly fallen down and was hard to climb up. B managed to get himself up on it and when he came back shortly after he said there were more rocks around the corner, one was at least 10 ft high.
We are wondering if at some point there was a volcano in this area which spit up these big boulders, quite interesting thinking about what this land use to look like before people came.
Linking up with Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday Treasures and My Corner of the World.
22 comments:
What a different looking beach you discovered. It looks like you're correct that those rocks and boulders are a legacy of volcanic activity. Super pictures too.
...it's interesting to see how round some of them are!
Wonderful photos of a fascinating place ~ those boulders are awesome ^_^
Live each moment with love,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
I have visited the Moeraki Boulders before (they are similar) but never knew about these ones. They will have to go on my Bucket List :)
We have been there a couple of times and the road was a lot better than it looks now. A lovely spot.
Fascinating post! I would love see these interesting boulders in person.
Love the photos!
A very interesting report on that strange place
How awesome! Great pics.
I'm thinking your volcano theory is most probably correct Amy. Was an excellent perspective shot to show the size of the boulders. Would be interesting to see if this spot does get busy in summer ✨
An amazing natural feature. Great photos.
Hello,
The round boulders are amazing, pretty beach and water views. Take care, enjoy your day and week ahead!
Amy - Margaret made the suggestion first - like Moeraki boulders. The Moeraki boulders are concretions - formed in sedimentary rock. They are about the same size and smaller. When the Moeraki boulders split open you can see yellow centre and veins spreading out. I didn't know about these Northland round boulders and shall put them on my 'to visit' list.
You know all the cool spots!!
Those boulders are amazing. It looks like giant rolled them there.
Great pics and those boulders are really big. I wonder how long they have been there. I would love to explore this area. Happy September!
They can be huge!
I'm pretty attracted to this scenery/place. Stay safe.
Worth a Thousand Words
Wow. They're so round!!
love the path to the beach.....beautiful views
They do look similar to the Moeraki boulders. There are some round boulders in Silverdale at the intersection of Whangaparaoa Road and the Hibiscus Coast highway. They are a bit larger and it has been said that they came from the Taupo eruption (some 200km away).
A very special landscape and boulders!
Another great NZ place. I walked the whole beach (from the end opposite the parking lot) with my MIL a few years ago and saw 6-foot rocks along the way.
I'm so excited to see you at 'My Corner of the World' this week!! Thanks for linking.
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